


Something Worth Fighting For

by xxcabalinaxx



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Equestrian, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-11
Updated: 2013-05-11
Packaged: 2017-12-11 14:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/799641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxcabalinaxx/pseuds/xxcabalinaxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is invited to Hogwarts for his ten year reunion. Everyone finds out what has been going on since he left England, and that he married a certain someone named Draco Malfoy.</p><p>Posted originally on FF.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Oh my god! Harry, it's so good to see you!" Hermione squealed as she threw her arms around one of her two best friends.

"It's good to see you too, Mi-." Harry replied as he returned her bone-crushing hug. He had missed his two best friends. He was happy with his life, he loved it and wouldn't change anything, but it was nice to see his oldest friends again.

"Harry!"

Ron grinned widely as he spotted his best mate. The tall redhead pulled Harry into a bear hug as soon as Hermione let go. "Wow, mate. We haven't seen you in ages. You've changed a lot."

Harry chuckled. "I know. The last time I was England was for your wedding. I kept meaning to come visit, but life kind of caught up with me and I never got the chance."

Ron released Harry and stepped back so he could wrap his arm around Hermione's waist. "Well, at least you're here now, mate."

The three former Gryffindor's walked over to their house table in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. They took their seats at the end and started chatting eagerly, catching up on what had happened in each other's lives.

"Oh Harry, I can't believe you're really here. It's been like, what, six years since you've been home," Hermione exclaimed.

"Ten years," Harry corrected. "I left just after your wedding, which was a month after we left school."

"Mate, don't you get lonely over there? I mean it's just you, living all by yourself in the United States."

Harry opened his mouth to speak. "Actually guys, I -"

"Welcome, faculty, former students, and honored guests, to the ten year reunion of the class of 1998! I know I speak for all the professors when I say that we are glad that you are all here for this joyous occasion. Now, please enjoy your meals and catch up with old comrades and friends. Enjoy!" Dumbledore stepped down from the podium and took his seat at the head table next to McGonagall.

Everyone quickly started piling food on their plates as soon as the food appeared on the tables, and the only sounds that could be heard were those of people enjoying their food. Harry looked around at the Great Hall, taking in the decorations and the set up of the room. The four house tables were in their normal places, but they had been enlarged to accommodate the former pupils and their families.

The Boy-Who-Lived stared wistfully at the room, remembering all the good times he had had with his friends that became his unofficial family. There were times when he thought about packing up and moving back to England, but then he'd take a look at his home and his life in the States the way it was now and have no desire whatsoever to change the way things were.

Hermione watched Harry as he took in the sights around them. He had changed so much, but he was still the gangly teenager she had known years ago. He had gone through a major growth spurt when they had still been in school, standing at an awkward six feet, but since then he’d filled out and seemed to have grown into himself. Skinny limbs had grown with muscle and instead of ambling along he’d figured out how to use his limbs all over again and was exeedingly more confident and sure of himself than he’d been as a teenager. He still had the same mop of uncontrollable black hair, but it was now styled to look like he had just rolled out of bed after the best shag of his life. That thought made Hermione smile to herself. Harry had lost the black clunky frames he used to wear as well, and now, they had been replaced by a much more stypish pair of thinner framed spectacles.

The trio were soon joined by their old roommates. Seamus and Dean sat down next to Harry while Neville and a woman, whom Harry assumed to be his wife, sat down on the other side of the table next to Ron and Hermione.

"Heya, Harry. How've you been doing?" Neville asked.

"I'm good Nev. How ‘bout you?"

Pleasantries continued and Harry caught up on things with his old roommates. Neville had gotten married to Luna Lovegood, who looked the most changed out of all of them, a few months ago and was currently the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts. Seamus and Dean were dating, but not married yet. They were engaged. Seamus owned a Quidditch store in Dublin, and Dean owned a small bookshop in Diagon Alley that he had started up a few years ago.

"Harry, tell us about what's been going on in your life. Job? Girlfriend? C'mon, mate, gimme some details here!" Ron was getting nosy, and not even the elbow to the ribs from Hermione could stop him.

Harry laughed and took a sip of his water, debating how much he should tell them. He decided to start with something simple. "Well, you guys remember how I wanted to be an Auror?"

Everyone nodded. "Did you join the American Auror Division? I heard the force they have is just as good as the one here in England," Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. "Nope. Not even close. Actually, I train horses. Show Jumpers to be specific."

"Horses? Wow, mate. Never saw that one coming," Seamus exclaimed with a slight slur. It was obvious that Seamus had already been to the punch bowl, not that they were surprised, and was bound to be there again soon. Ron had a slightly dazed expression on his face.

"Yeah, neither did I. But it's awesome. I love it. It's never boring, and you really develop a bond with the horses. There's this one horse I have, his name's Orion. We call him 'Triple B': big, brown, and a beast. He is a complete pain in the arse. When you're in the stall with him he's a total bastard. He bites, kicks, pins people against the wall, it's ridiculous. But once he's outside, he's a totally different animal. He is like a giant puppy. Follows people around, looking for treats and food and someone to pet him." Harry shook his head, thinking of the massive stallion he had left at home. Orion might be a pain in the arse, but he was Harry's pain in the arse and he wouldn't give him up for anything.

"Oh Harry, that's so sweet," Hermione gushed.

"Alright, Harry. Get to the good stuff; anyone special in your life? Girlfriend?" Ron waggled his eyebrows a bit to show he was teasing, but at the same time Harry knew he was dying to know.

"Oh honestly, Ronald. If there was anyone special in Harry's life he would have told us!" Hermione scolded her husband.

Harry snorted, trying to cover up his laugh at the sight in front of him. If only they knew, he thought. If only they knew…

Harry tried to get those thoughts out of his head and dug into his meal earnestly. He joined in Ron and Hermione's conversation; trying not to think of those he had left at home. He learned that Hermione was now three months pregnant with her and Ron's first child. This had shocked him slightly.

"I would've thought that you two would be on baby number three at least! You guys have Weasley blood. Weasleys are known for having many, many children."

Ron reached on top of the table and took Hermione's hand in his. "Yeah, we thought about having kids sooner, but it never seemed to be the right time. We wanted to get settled in a house first and at least one of us have a stable job before we brought a child into this world.

Harry nodded. What they said made sense. It also made it feel extremely guilty when they said he was the first one they had told.

"Potter!"

Harry looked up as Professor McGonagall strode toward him, a smile on her usually stern face. He stood from his seat and met her a few feet away from the table, grateful for the distraction. "Professor, I knew I'd see you at some point." He kissed her cheek politely in greeting and hugged her as well.

"Well, I should hope so. You don't really think I'd let you get away with no proper greeting do you?" The old witch smiled. "And I know Albus will want to say hello as well. Its been so long since we've seen you. How are you coping with life in the States? I hope you've found yourself a nice girl to settle down with. Maybe we'll see your children in these halls, hmm?" McGonagall said teasingly.

Harry knew that no one was going to let this go. He decided to tell everyone the truth. He had kept it secret for over ten years. He knew it was going to come out some day, and apparently that day was today.

Then, everything seemed to happen at once. Just as Harry opened his mouth to explain, Hermione noticed the ring he had been sporting on his hand the entire night. She nearly shrieked as she exclaimed, "Oh my god. Harry, is that what I think it is?"

Harry spun around to face her. Ron was now staring gob smacked at his hand. As were the nearest thirty or so people. "What are you talking about? Oh." He followed everyone's gaze to his hand and stared at the intricate, diamond ring that had been on his hand for eleven years.

Suddenly everyone's head turned as the doors to the Great Hall opened and a small, brown haired little girl bolted into the room. The child skidded to a stop about ten feet into the hall, her shiny black shoes having little grip on the stone floor. She was dressed in a cream colored dress with a bright red long sleeved shirt underneath, and a pair of white tights. She scanned the room frantically before locking her gaze on Harry. Her face sported a wide smile. She instantly took off and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, hurtling toward Harry. Everyone in the hall froze as the strange child screamed, "Daddy!"

Harry knelt down on the stone floor without thinking and opened his arms to catch the girl. It was a miracle she’d made it over to him without sliding about, he thought as he swept her up in the air and swung her around. The girl giggled madly, her dark brown curls bouncing as she spun around in her daddy's arms.

"Daddy! Daddy! Guess what?" the girl exclaimed.

Harry grinned and tickled the tiny body in his arms. "What?” He adjusted her on his hip, unable to the idiotic grin off his face. “What happened, Lex? And why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be home with your Papa?" As much as he was glad to see his daughter, Harry had no idea why she was here at Hogwarts when she should be at home in New York.

"Papa packed us all up and took a porky. Then we ended up in this big white room and then we came here and went to visit Uncle Moony and Uncle Padfoot. And Uncle Sev was there and then we went to this big house that Papa said he used to live in. It's really big, Daddy. You got to see it. It's ginormous! And Papa bought us outside to a barn, like the one we have at home, and Orion was there! And Athena and Cadet and Ranger!" The little girl paused to take a breath and regroup. "And then Jamie got on Ranger. And he was being really bad. He kept bucking and kicking and jumping. Papa got upset and tried to make Jamie get off. But Jamie said no and he got a crop and was swinging it everywhere! He was swinging it back and forth and back and forth. And Ranger reared up and Jamie hit him again and-"

"And your son beat the snot out of him. That pony was being a right bastard and he whacked him good."

Harry looked up and smiled like the fool that he was. He readjusted his hold on Alexis and tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly become lodged in his throat. "So, you wanted to stay home and get in some extra training huh?"

Draco smiled at his husband. "Yes, well…" The blond walked forward a bit; a small blond boy nestled tightly in his arms. "We missed you. And, I knew you'd end up doing something stupid, being the Gryffindork that you are. I had to come and save your arse."

Harry walked closer to Draco so that he was near enough to kiss him lightly. As he pulled back Harry could see the smile on Draco's face. But instantly the smile morphed into a smirk, the patented Malfoy smirk.

Harry then looked at the boy. "So, did you have fun scaring your Papa half to death?"

The boy nodded shyly and smiled before turning and burying his face in Draco's neck. Draco laughed and rubbed the boy's back soothingly.

Harry wrapped his free arm around Draco's waist and pulled him closer. "So, where are the other two?"

"They're coming. We had an issue with the paintball guns that were snuck into their luggage."

Harry nodded and laughed. He knew his oldest children had a knack for getting into messy situations. Having all out paintball wars were minor compared to some of the other stunts they had pulled in the past.

"Ummm, Harry, what's going on?"

Harry and Draco looked over to where Hermione and Ron were sitting with Seamus, Dean, Neville and their families.

His nerves coming alive in full force, Harry’s throat tightened and he pulled Draco closer. Draco sensed Harry's nerves and leaned into his side a bit more, trying to give him reassurance.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet my husband: Draco Potter."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Everyone was silent. No one spoke. No one moved. Nothing.

Draco watched as many expressions flitted over the faces of his husband's friends. He looked worriedly over at Harry. He knew that they had kept their marriage a secret for so many years because of the Death Eaters that had yet to be captured. And he knew Harry had dreaded telling the friends he left behind in England.

Harry turned to look at his husband and smiled tentatively at him. He had been dying to tell his Gryffindor friends for so long, but now that he had he wasn't so sure it was the right choice. Harry felt his little girl lower her head to his shoulder and he gently kissed the top of her hair, breathing in the smell of her cherry almond shampoo that she had been so adamant about getting.

Neville was the first one to recover from the shock.

He stood up and walked over to where Harry was standing with Draco and their two children. The Herbology professor stuck out his hand to Draco and clearly said, "Neville Longbottom. Nice to meet you, Mr Potter."

Draco grinned and reached out to grasp Neville's hand. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Mr Longbottom."

"Please, call me Neville."

"Then I must insist that you call me Draco as well."

Neville laughed a bit and pulled Draco into an awkward hug, taking care not to squish the little boy. Neville leant in a bit closer to whisper in Draco's ear, "He deserves to be happy. If you're the one to give him that, then I'm not going to try to interfere."

As Neville pulled back, Draco stared him in the eye and mouthed a silent 'thank you'. Neville nodded and motioned for the Potters to sit at the table with the rest of their friends.

Harry and Draco sat down with their two children next to Dean, Harry on the inside and Draco perched on the end of the bench. The little girl in Harry's arms looked curiously around at all the people staring at them. "Daddy, who are they?"

Hermione snapped out of her daze when the child who was so obviously Harry's little girl spoke up. She smiled gently at the girl. "My name's Hermione. I went to school with your Daddy and your Papa."

"Her-my-knee?" She looked up as Harry for help. He nodded and smiled at her.

She looked back to Hermione. "I'm Alexis. I'm six. That's my brudder James. He's three. I have two other brothers. Their names are Jake and Jeremy. They're ten."

"Twins?" That was Ron. He now had a nauseous look on his face, as if the though the thought of Harry and Draco having children and being together was making him ill.

Alexis nodded. "MmmHmm. Who are you?

"Er, I'm Ron. I'm Hermione's husband. I went to school with your dad."

"Did you go to school with Papa too?"

"Um, sure. But we were in different houses. We didn't get along that great."

Alexis nodded and reached out for a roll that was on a platter in front of Harry's plate. She nibbled on it a bit before launching back into the conversation. "Did all of you go to school with Daddy and Papa?"

Dean decided to have his input. "Yup. Neville, Ron, Seamus, Hermione and I were in Gryffindor with Harry. Malfoy was in Slytherin. And Neville's wife Luna was in Ravenclaw."

Alexis nodded. "Oh."

Harry smoothed Alexis's thick brown hair down and kissed the top of her head. He turned to look at Draco and James. "So what prompted you to come? You were so adamant about not coming."

"I had always planned on coming. It was supposed to be a surprise. The kids knew about it. I'm surprised one of them didn't let it slip." Draco laughed lightly and took a sip of his drink.

James reached out for Draco's glass. "Firsty Papa." Small fingers grasped the glass only to have it pulled away.

"No, baby. Not for you." Draco placed the glass just out of James's reach on the table and conjured a sippy cup full of juice. "Here, baby. You can have this one."

James happily took the cup and started drinking greedily. Draco smiled at his youngest child and settled him more comfortably in his lap.

"Where are Jake and Jeremy?"

"They were downstairs in Severus's quarters when I came up with Lexi and Jamie. They were supposed to be in time-out, but I believe they were watching you fall on your arse at Aachen," Draco answered with a snicker.

"Aww, geez Draco. Did you have to bring that one with you?" Harry groaned. His oldest children thought the tape of his ride at the World Equestrian Games in 2006 was extremely funny and were always dying to watch it whenever they could.

"Of course I did." Draco smirked at Harry, mirth dancing in his eyes.

"What's Aachen?" Hermione asked.

"In 2006 the World Equestrian Games were held in Aachen, Germany. Harry competed in the show jumping division and going over the last line, his horse threw a bitch fit. We'll just say that Harry really liked brown that day," Draco answered. He shook his head and ate a bit of the food in front of him as he remembered that day.

"In English please?"

"It means," Harry interjected, when he saw Draco start to embellish, "that my horse got spooked and started rearing. I fell off and landed in the dirt."

"Hard," Draco added.

Alexis and James laughed. They had heard their Daddy and their Papa argue about this many times. It was still amusing to them.

"It wasn't that bad."

"Yes, Harry, it was."

"Whatever."

Draco smirked victoriously.

Draco suddenly noticed an odd scent drifting through the air. He turned his head toward where the smell seemed to be coming from. He sniffed delicately, trying to decipher what it was. With a frown Draco stood and slid James onto the bench next to Harry. Automatically, Harry wrapped his arm around James to keep him steady.

Draco walked away from the table, seemingly following something. He stopped and looked around again, looking for some sort of sign. He started walking again, this time at a slower pace, making no noise or sounds. Draco paused for a second, then reached out into the air.

By now everyone in the Hall was staring at the man, wondering what he was doing.

Harry watched his husband search for an invisible item, having a good idea what was going on.

Alexis and James looked at each other, then at their Daddy, and then at their Papa, giggling like mad. They clearly knew exactly what was happening and did not plan on letting Papa or Daddy in on the surprise; if it could be called that.

Draco left his hand hang in midair for a split second. He deftly snatched something out of the air and pulled. He stepped back and bundled up a very recognizable cloak, revealing two young boys. It was sheer luck that Draco unknowingly let go of the cloak and it fell exactly where it did, covering up the third being under the cloak and becoming undetectable once more.

The two boys stared at Draco with wide emerald green eyes. They both peered at the taller man through shaggy dark brown hair, eyes slightly downcast.

Draco glared agitated at the two boys. He gazed at them unblinkingly for a minute or so before his face broke out into a smile. Damn his children. It was impossible to stay mad for very long.

The boys beamed at Draco and rushed forward into his outstretched arms. Skinny arms wound their way around the blond and faces were buried into a soft silk shirt. "Hey," Draco whispered into their hair.

"Hi," they both whispered back.

Draco pulled away and smiled softly at his two oldest children. He took one of their hands in each of his and walked with back to the table. The twins clambered onto the bench after Draco sat down. One sat in between Harry and Draco. The other squeezed in on Harry's other side, shoving Dean down a few feet.

Harry released James back into Draco’s arms and let go of Lexi briefly as he wrapped an arm around each of the twins. He pulled them close to his side and kissed them both on the forehead. "I missed you guys."

"We missed you too," they said in unison.

Harry gave the boys one last squeeze before releasing them. He looked up at his friends. "Guys, I'd like you to meet my two oldest kids, Jake and Jeremy."

"Umm, Harry, not to be rude, but which one is which?" Ron asked. His curiosity was getting the better of him. He wanted to know what was going on and how the hell Harry ended up creating four kids with the ferret of all people.

"Jake is here on my right, and Jeremy is on my left. If you want to remember the easy way to separate them, Jake always wears blue and Jeremy wears green; hence the shirts."

Sure enough, Jake had on a dark Ravenclaw blue pinstripe shirt, while Jeremy wore a Slytherin green dress shirt.

That was the only way to tell the two boys apart. They both had the same build and looks, right down to the freckle on the inside of their right wrist. Harry and Draco had searched all over their tiny bodies after they were born, trying to find something that would help them be able to tell their sons apart. Eventually they have up and settled for dressing them in different colours. Not even the Weasley twins looked as identical as Jake and Jeremy did.

Jake and Jeremy immediately dug into the food on Harry's plate, despite the protests of their father. After he realized that he wasn't going to get any of the food he had started out with he grabbed his fork and picked off of Draco's plate.

Draco slapped Harry's hand away and glared halfheartedly at him. Harry humphed and watched as everyone at the table ate except him.

"Here, Daddy." Alexis held a piece of carrot up to his face.

He took it and popped it into his mouth. "Thank you Lexi." It took him a moment to realize that the heap of carrots on Alexis's plate was disappearing much faster than she could eat them.

He listened for a moment before bending over and peering under the table. "Jake! Jeremy!"

The twins glanced at each other behind their father's back and gulped. "Yes, Dad?

Harry was fighting to keep his cool. "Boys, why is Misa under the table?"

Draco caught the end of Harry's question and looked at Jake and Jeremy in surprise. "What are you talking about? Misa is -" he paused to glance down below, "under the table."

The grey-eyed man looked at Harry. "How the hell did she get here? I left her with the rest of the dummies at Malfoy Manor when we arrived."

"Why did you bring them? We're only going to be here a day or two at most."

Draco shifted in his seat. "I thought that maybe we would stay for a bit longer, turn it into a vacation. We haven't had one in a while. Every time we go away it's to a horse show or to look at a prospective buy."

Harry nodded and lured Misa out from under the table by having her walk underneath the bench.

Dean turned around to see this 'Misa' creature. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw that 'Misa' was a horse. "Damn! That is one tiny pony."

The creature in question looked up at Dean. She gazed at him solemnly with large brown eyes. She turned her little head and pranced over to Draco who was holding a piece of cut up apple that James had been eating.

While Misa munched on her treat, Hermione got up from her seat and came to the other side of the table to inspect the tiny horse. "Oh, she's not a pony, she's a horse," she stated decisively.

"Hermione, aren't horses a bit bigger?" Ron asked. He was standing in his seat looking over the table.

"Yes, they are. But Minature horses are built like a horse, just smaller. Ponies are fat and stocky while horses are slimmer. Miniature horses are measured by height, not build."

"How do you know so much? You've never been interested in horses before, Hermione," Harry asked.

"Bill and Fleur's daughter Elise has a book of horse breeds that she absolutely adores. Every time she comes to visit she asks me to read it. I've learned as we go along."

The tiny equine was a dark chocolate brown color with a white patch on her left shoulder, a larger one on her rump that blended in with her tail, and four white feet with the white continuing up her legs partway. She was wearing a small halter that was, at the moment, grasped in Draco's fingers.

The blond man scratched lightly under the filly’s chin and her little eyes closed with pleasure. He looked sternly at his boys. “Jacob. Jeremy. You will be on muck duty for the next three days. No arguments.”

The twins nodded. “It was Jake’s idea!”

“Nuh uh! You’re the one who said we should hide her under Dad’s cloak!”

A throat cleared from behind the group and heads swung around immediately. Remus Lupin stood there, looking much better than he had the last time he’d taught at the school, an easy, warm smile on his face.

“Uncle Moony!”

Alexis nearly kicked Harry in the head as she scrambled over his shoulder in an attempt to get to Remus. She leant forward precariously over Harry and reached out. Thankfully Remus grabbed her before she fell face first on the floor. Draco’s heart stopped beating for a moment and his eyes widened in horror. When Remus had Lexi securely and Draco could breathe again he fussed over Jamie, grabbing a cloth and started to clean up the juice that he had spilled down his front and on the table.

Jake and Jeremy were slightly more civilized in scrambling to see the werewolf. Remus managed to hug them all at once and smiled at James who was perfectly content in Draco’s arms. The little boy waved sleepily and leant against his Papa’s shoulder as soon as Draco was done cleaning.

Remus waved back. “I hope everyone’s trip went well. Yes?” The three little Potter’s nodded and all started to tell Remus about their trip. All at the same time.

Remus held up his hands. “Hold on, hold on. One at a time, you know better.” The children quieted down. “Now, how about we ask your Daddy and your Papa if we can all go down to the quidditch pitch for a while?”

Three heads nodded eagerly and turned the puppy dog eyes on their parents. Harry nodded in amusement. “All right, we’ll be out later on. Don’t give Moony a hard time.”

Remus waved a farewell to the group of his former students and started to usher Jake, Jeremy, and Alexis outside. Their progress was halted for a moment when Jake turned back to look at them. “What about the baby?”

Everyone else looked at Jamie, who had finally fallen asleep. Draco and Harry, though, both looked down at Misa. The yearling filly had moved back under the table and lay down on the stone floor, half of her body resting on the invisibility cloak, which could now be seen now that it wasn’t covering anything; her head resting againt Harry’s calves. She was sound asleep. “We’ll keep her here with us, bud. It’s been a big day for her.”

Jake nodded and with that, they were gone.

Draco turned to Harry and smiled. "They are so _your_ sons."

Harry laughed. "I know. What I want to figure out is how they got a hold of my cloak. I thought we’d locked that away somewhere." He shook his head and grabbed his water glass.

Hermione had glanced back and forth between the horse and the family before her ever since the cloak had come off. It was one thing to read about something, it was another thing to see it in person. “She’s like a big dog. Not all horses are like that are they?”

Harry laughed and shook his head. “No, not at all. But Misa’s special. She might as well be a dog; we’ve hand raised her since the day after she was born.”

Out of habit, Draco took over when his husband stopped speaking. “Her mother didn’t make it after giving birth and a friend of ours in New York gave us a call and Harry went over and picked her up.”

“She had to be fed every couple of hours in the beginning so we kept her in the house with us. She was so tiny. That was a year ago, and she’s still in the house” Harry finished with a laugh.

What they didn’t say was how Misa had been born almost a month and a half prematurely and that she’d had a twin sister that didn’t make it. They didn’t say how during those first few days they could barely get Misa to eat and it was only because she ended up bonding with Draco instantly that he was finally able to get her to accept a bottle. Just because they didn’t say any of that, didn’t mean that Harry and Draco weren’t thinking about it as they told the edited version of the tale.

Thankfully, they managed to keep the emotional stress out of their voices and the conversation continued around them. Gradually, everyone seemed to accept Draco into their fold and things became more relaxed.

Harry laughed at something Seamus said and glanced over at Draco who was smiling and hiding it behind the glass he was drinking from.

Harry coughed and choked on the pumpkin juice he had just taken a sip of. He stared wide-eyed at Draco who was continuing to eat and talk and hold a still sleeping James against his chest.

"Draco?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Are you drinking milk?"

Hermione heard the odd tone in Harry's voice and asked, "What's the matter, Harry?"

Draco froze.

"Nothing's the matter. But Draco's drinking milk."

"So? I drink milk all the time. What's the matter with that."

"Draco hates milk."

"So if he hates it why would he be drinking it now?"

Draco still hadn't moved.

"Because the only time Draco drinks milk is when he's pregnant."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a website with images of the horses for visual reference. Please note that none of the images are mine.
> 
> http://xcabalinax.webs.com/somethingworthfightingfor/index.html

Draco sat on the grass at the edge of the Quidditch pitch, propped against the tall concrete stands, watching his children run around and play. He smiled as James tagged Jeremy on the shoulder and Jeremy chased after him slowly, giving his younger brother a head start. Alexis squealed when Jeremy suddenly veered off from chasing James and took off after her. Alexis turned and ran in the other direction, laughing all the way. All the while, Misa ran circles among them, squealing and neighing and kicking up her heels in babyish exuberance.

Draco sighed and settled more comfortably against the cold stone. He had excused himself from the hall shortly after Harry had called him out at the table. It was nothing short of a miracle that Jamie had woken up saying he had to go to the bathroom, seconds after Harry had made that lovely announcement that Draco only had milk when he was pregnant. He’d woken Misa, and taken his two youngest children out to the pitch to play with his older three. Yes, at this point, after all they’d been through to keep her alive, Misa was one of his children. Hell, all of their horses were a part of the family in some way. When you spent multiple hours a day with someone, or something, it was inevitable that you would develop a bond.

He’d come out and sat with Remus for a few minutes, talking about things that had happened since the last time he and the rest of their unofficial family had come ti visit them in chilly upstate New York. It was during their chat that Sirius and Severus had come out to join them. After giving Draco a massive hug and playfully scolding him for not telling him about Potter Baby #5, he shifted into Padfoot and went to join the epic game of tag that had formed.

Draco laughed as James took a tumble and crashed into Padfoot and the two of them sprawled on the grass. When Padfoot stood, James was straddling the big dog that was almost three times the size of Misa and they went after Alexis. He lifted one hand regally to push his shoulder length hair back so it wasn't in his face. He rested his other hand on his abdomen, where, sure enough, there was a small bump. Sighing again, Draco looked up as a shadow fell over him.

He looked up at the face he had grown to love so much over the past decade and nearly started crying when he saw the look on Harry's face. "Don't," he whispered. "Don't look at me like that." Severus and Remus quietly slipped away to help keep the children occupied while Harry and Draco talked. Knowing the couple’s history, they knew this conversation wasn’t going to be an easy one. Of course, Severus only joined in on the fun after casting a notice-me-not charm. He would be beyond mortified if anyone but his family saw him playing childish games and catering to the whim of the Potter children.

Harry sat down in front of Draco. He crossed his legs so he sat Indian style and angled his body so he could keep an eye on his children and talk to his husband as well. "Sweetheart, why didn't you tell me you were pregnant again?" He reached forward and took Draco's pale hands in his own larger, rougher ones. It still amazed him. He and Draco did the same amount of manual labor at home, rode the same number of hours, mucked the same stalls, but Draco always looked like he juts got home from a spa.

Draco looked down at their entwined hands. He shrugged, but said nothing. There were so many things going through his head and he just couldn’t pick one thing to say first.

"Draco, does this have anything to do with James?" asked Harry.

Draco's head shot up so fast he wondered at how he hadn't gotten whiplash. He stared at Harry with solemn grey eyes. He drew in a shaky breath and tried to keep calm in hopes that his heart, which had started pounding when Harry sat down, would revery back to it’s normal rhythm. “No.”

Harry scooted a few inches closer on the ground. “Draco,” he said softly.

Draco exhaled and his shoulders dropped. “Of course this has to do with James, Harry.”

A memory of a few years ago flashed before both of their eyes and now it was Harry’s turn for his breathing to become shaky. “That-” he had to pause to clear his throat. “That won’t happen again. He’s gone. Things are different now.” There was a hard, determined glint to Harry’s gaze that Draco immediately took note of.

Draco nodded and reached forward to run his fingers through Harry’s hair, a soothing, familiar gesture. “I know they are, love. I know.” Draco tried to smile easily at him, and he hoped Harry couldn’t see that it was a little bit forced. “I am sorry that I didn’t tell you right away. I almost didn’t believe it after the signs started again. I had to wait it out and be sure.”

Harry ran his thumb over Draco’s knuckles. “It’s fine. I know now.”

The life started to come back into Harry’s face after the dark flashback and Draco eyed his husband warily at the glint that entered his green eyes. “What?”

Harry shook his head and laughed. “Nothing. I just find it damn funny that the way we can always tell if you’re pregnant or not is if you start drinking milk. I mean really, of all the symptoms.”

Draco groaned. “Ugh, it’s awful. You know how much I hate, hate milk.”

Harry stood and brushed off his jeans before reaching down and pulling Draco to his feet as well. “So, shall we go tell the rest of the brood the good news?”

Draco nodded and tucked himself under Harry’s arm as they started walking. The games and mayhem had gradually migrated to the far end of the field.

It was James who spotted the pair first and he scrambled away from where the four children had Snuffles pinned, and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Harry picked the little boy up and tossed him into the air before catching him and settling James on his hip.

Draco smoothed back James’ hair from his forehead. Jake and Jeremy were the perfect blend of both he and Harry: rich brown hair, and hazel eyes. Alexis was more like Harry every day with her thick curls of brown so dark it was as close to black as it could be and bright green eyes like her grandmother. But James was a little clone of Draco, from his little nose to his light hair to the signature Malfoy grey eyes.

Sirius had managed to transform back into his human self and was ambling over to Harry and Draco as best he could considering he still had both of the twins hanging off of him. Alexis followed half a step behind, dragging Severus with her.

Harry grinned at the sight. “Alright, we have an announcement to make.”

Alexis gazed up at her father suspiciously. “Is it a good ‘nouncement or a bad one?”

Sirius and Draco burst out laughing at her tenacity. Severus’ lips quirked up and Harry chuckled. “It’s a good one Princess. A really, really, really good one.”

Jake and Keremy looked up wide-eyed at Harry and said in perfect unison, "Woah, you used a 'triple really'. This must be good."

Everyone laughed. "Yes Jake, this is really good." Harry took a breath and looked at Draco who smiled brightly back at him. "How would you guys like to have another baby sister or brother?"


	4. Chapter 4

Harry let out a strangled scream and sat up in bed abruptly, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He looked over to Draco, finding him still sound asleep, and curled around one of the massive pillows on the bed. His heart going a mile a minute, and his pulse pounding in his ears, Harry got out of the bed as quietly as he could.

He stepped quietly out of the bedroom that he and Draco were using in Malfoy Manor. Now that he didn't have to worry about waking Draco, Harry could relax his stance a bit and almost walk normally. He moved through the hallways, eyes sliding over paintings and portraits and sculptures, trying his best to get rid of the lingering images in his head.

Soon Harry found himself outside at the immaculate stable that was situated next to the main manor on the grounds. Without thinking, Harry opened the cumbersome door and went into the dark building. He started to hum softly as to alert the horses to his presence. This group of equines knew who he was, but it was late. There was a possibility that the ones who were starting to wake up now that he was there, would startle and set the others off. It was a slim possibility, but horses were skittish creatures and there could be commotion that Harry would have preferred to avoid at this moment.

He had come in specifically to see one horse, but out of habit he stopped at each stall to check that each horse was safe and settled. Athena was in the first stall. The eight year old Thoroughbred mare was Draco’s latest project. A tall and leggy former racehorse, off the track, she had a bright chestnut coat that glowed twice as brightly in the sun, and she was crazy smart to boot. She and Draco were always engaged in a battle of wits and will, trying to outsmart each other.

Harry reached up to turn on the hose that filled the plastic water bucket hanging on the wall. The water bubbled and gurgled for a moment as the air pockets in the hose were pushed out and the water level rose. Athena ambled over from where she had been pressed against the back wall, watching him with steady eyes. She pressed her soft nose against the bars and wiggled her upper lip at Harry; her customary request for a treat.

The first stable on the Malfoy property had been built hundreds of years ago, even before the original manor house had been constructed. Since then, both the manor and the equine facility had been renovated and remodeled, and it was expected that the stable would be as up to date as possible, but there were some things that Draco preferred to do the old fashion way. Stalls were mucked by hand every morning, no magic or house elves. Water buckets were filled manually; grain, feed, and hay doled out with meticulous notes recorded in the office books. Exercise regimens created and kept to, with easier and more strenuous works spaced evenly between.

The program was down to a science and everything was done for a reason. If the same people mucked the same stalls everyday, then if there was a change in the horse’s habits (and yes that includes how much manure is produced) then it is easy to tell if something is wrong. Filling the water buckets yourself instead of using automatic waterers enables you to watch the horse’s water intake. The riding schedule was organized to keep horses at the peak of fitness and health.

When the bucket was full, Harry reached up again to shut off the water valve. Athena wiggled her lip again when no treat was produced and squealed softly when Harry reached his fingers between the metal bars and scratched under her chin instead. “Sorry, princess. I have nothing on me. You’ll be getting your breakfast in a few hours anyway.” Athena snorted and moved back to her place against the wall. Harry watched for a moment longer and Athena reached down to lip at a few leftover bites of hay from dinner. The mare chewed slowly, one eye still on Harry. When Harry didn’t move, she snorted again and swung her butt around so it was the only view Harry had of her. Chuckling, Harry moved to the next stall.

Sleeping soundly in the stall next to Athena, flat out on his side, was Ranger. Harry and Draco liked to joke that the pony was older than dirt. No one believed them when they were told that Ranger was almost thirty years old. Lucius Malfoy had bought the dark bay gelding as a four year old when Draco was a toddler and Draco had learnt to ride on the pony before outgrowing him and moving on to a bigger horse. All of their children had learned to ride on Ranger as well. At the ripe old age of twenty-nine years old, Ranger was still fat and happy, with a thick glossy coat, and the biggest appetite out of every horse in the barn. At this rate, Ranger would outlive all of them.

The sound of water hitting the plastic of the bucket startled Ranger out of his slumber. The pony rolled over onto his belly and gave Harry his nastiest glare, his ears laying flat against his head. The effectiveness of the death stare was diminished by the fact that the fat, dark little pony had pale shavings stuck all over him, clinging to his coat. Very terrifying. Harry rolled his eyes. “Cranky old brat.” Ranger shook his head, dislodging some of the shavings and lay back down again.

Harry thought back to the description he had gotten of Jamie’s ‘wild ride’ on Ranger that afternoon. He knew that what his little girl had described wasn’t quite what happened, and a pony’s antics could seem much wilder to a child with a big imagination. And Harry was also one hundred percent positive that if any of their children were in any danger, Draco would have done something. Besides, Ranger would never do anything on purpose to hurt on of the kids. He was a cranky old man that had a bit of an attitude, what pony didn’t? And he had no qualms about being difficult for Harry or Draco, but he would never hurt the kids.

Cadet blinked owlishly at him from the stall across from Athena. The patient older mare was the horse Draco moved on to years ago after outgrowing Ranger. The high jumping, classy, bay warmblood was as patient as they come. She’d taken Draco all the way to the top levels of show jumping. Now that she was nineteen years young, Draco had retired her from the higher levels of serious competition and turned her care over to Jake and Jeremy. Cadet still had just enough energy to keep up with the twins requests and whims.

And finally, there was Orion. The massive brown stallion was wide awake and gazing at him with big dark brown eyes. Harry unbolted the stall door and slipped inside. He was slightly cautious as he was all too familiar with the horse’s nasty stall manners. But, for once, Orion stood calm and quietly. He stayed motionless as Harry ran his hands over the warmblood’s coat, the motion more for Harry’s comfort than for Orion’s. The muscle’s under his hands were firm and Orion’s skin rippled at the touch.

When Harry felt teeth bite into his arm he scolded the horse sharply, but softly. "None of that. You know better." The horse grunted and pinned his ears back for a moment, but kept his teeth to himself after that. Harry grinned and ran his fingers through the thick, short black mane, pulling out a few tangles. Orion had been his wedding present from Draco. A green as grass six year old, that had been handled by people a grand total of five times since he’d been born, and had a disposition worse that Satan. Harry had worked with the youngster day after day, gained his trust, and had been able to tap into Orion's amazing potential. The two had done very well in the show ring over the years. But, as much as Harry hated to admit it, Orion was getting older. And while he was in his prime and at the top of his game now, in a few years the stallion would be retired to stud most likely. Harry would have to start looking over the horses they had back home and figure out who was his next grand prix horse. However, now wasn’t the time to think about that. Right now, right now he was just taking comfort in being around a good friend.

It was over an hour later when Harry finally made his way back to the house. It was still pitch black as he walked through the halls on the manor. He was about to go back into the master bedroom, but paused as he was about to grasp the door handle. He turned around instead and went to the room his two oldest children were sleeping in. What Harry expected to see was two boys sleeping in one of the two queen sized beds that had been set up. They tended to stay in the same bed when the surroundings were unfamiliar to them. It was for that reason the boys were given such large beds in the first place. When he saw that both beds were empty, Harry felt dread and horror pool in his gut. He hurried back into the hall and threw open the door to Alexis' room. Nothing. Jamie's room was the same.

The panic from his earlier nightmare that had never really gone away returned full forcer and started to build up inside him and it felt like it took him ages to get back to his and Draco's room. He had to tell his husband that their kids were missing. But, when he shoved the door open and went to yell, he found his voice caught in his throat.

Draco was awake and propped up in bed leaning against a pile of pillows against the headboard. Pressed up against each side of him were Jake and Jeremy. Alexis was lying on Draco's knees, half asleep and snuggled under her favorite fuzzy blanket. James was curled up on Draco's lap., his blonde head tucked under Draco’s chin. All five of them were watching a video on the television that had recently be mounted on the wall in the corner of the bedroom. When Draco heard the door open he looked up so see Harry standing there. The grin that was on his face was enough to make all of Harry's fear and tension vanish. Draco cocked his head sideways when Harry stayed motionless in the entry. "Well, don't just stand there. Come watch the movie."

The fist that seemed to have grabbed hold of Harry’s heart loosened and he smiled tiredly and climbed onto his side of the bed, sliding under the covers. He reached out and dragged a sleepy Alexis over to him, pulling her onto his lap. The little girl yawned and snuggled into her daddy's chest. Harry kissed the top of her head and ran a hand over her soft curls. With the other arm Harry pulled Draco closer to him and pressed his lips against his fair blond hair. "I love you," he whispered.

Draco turned slightly and looked into Harry's eyes. What he saw there was enough to make him almost cry. The love and devotion was something that Draco couldn't get enough of seeing, but the fear and grief were unbearable to see. He kissed his husband tenderly and leant his forehead against Harry's and nodded. "I love you too. More and more every day."


	5. Chapter 5

Draco tiptoed out of the room, waiting with bated breath. When he was able to sneak out of the children's playroom without any of the kids noticing him he let out the breath he’d been holding. Out of caution, he still made sure his steps were quiet. While Harry was out for the day with Ron and Hermione, he had been spending the day with the kids. They had spent the morning out with the horses and were now resting and watching yet another movie. Draco thanked the god everyday that all of his kids loved movies and had no issues with watching multiple movies in one day.

With a sly smile Draco spun around and walked toward the bedroom. Harry had just gotten back from his day out and Draco was eager to spend some 'quality time' with his husband. He slipped into the dimly lit room and closed the door behind him with a sexy smirk. His eyes darkened with lust as he watched his Gryffindor husband strip out of his clothes. Harry had just tossed his shirt on the bed and undone his belt when he finally noticed Draco. "Hey, you." Harry was just about to grab a clean shirt and put it on when he saw the look in Draco's eyes.

Harry dropped the shirt on the floor and slowly walked to Draco, his eyes gleaming with a predatory look. Draco smiled and playfully backed into the door. The instant that Harry was pressed up against him, Draco reached up and latched onto his husbands lips with his own. The Slytherin's pale hands gripped at his husband's biceps as he felt Harry wrap his arm around his waist. The other hand came up to cradle the back of his head, threading through his hair.

Draco moaned softly as Harry nipped and kissed along his neck and collarbone. He lifted his arms to wrap around Harry's neck and started walking forward, forcing his husband back at the same time. Harry just moved along, never breaking contact with his mouth on Draco’s skin, until he felt the edge of the bed hit the bad on his knees. Draco's slow momentum was enough to propel them both back onto the bed. Draco landed on top of Harry and broke their kiss to laugh lightly.

The blonde trailed feather light kisses up and down Harry's neck, moving along his jaw before stopping at his mouth. He pressed closer to his dark haired husband and slid his hands up Harry's chest. Pale fingers cupped a strong jaw. Draco broke off their kiss and whispered in Harry's ear, "Children are watching a movie. Horses are fed and put away. You. Me. This bed. Right now. Any questions?"

Harry grinned and placed a hand on the small of Draco's back. "None that I can think of."

"Good, then." Draco crashed his lips against Harry's, mouths open and tongues dueling for control. He smiled against Harry's mouth. They hadn't been able to spend some 'quality' time together for a few weeks now. First Harry was away looking at some young horses for sale. He had bought three of them. Then they’d come to England for the reunion. Then Alexis had gotten sick, which Jake and Jeremy had caught. So Draco and Harry had been run ragged trying to care for three very sick children, one healthy child, the horses here, and they’d still continued to check in with the staff they’d left at home to care for the remaining horses. James hadn't caught whatever virus it was, but it was only a matter of time in Draco's opinion. If one of them got sick, they all did. Simple parental logic.

"Eww! Papa! Papa! Jamie's sick! He got sick on the floor! Eww! Papa!" There was banging on the door and Draco lifted his head with a groan. He looked pointedly down at Harry.

"I told you it was only a matter of time before he was ill. But did you believe me? Oh no. 'He'll be fine Draco. It's been a few weeks. The virus can't be dormant that long.' Yeah, well, guess what? I was right. And you weren't." Draco kissed him one last time and rolled off of Harry and neatly landed on the floor with his feet under him. He tried to make his hair look reasonably neat and smoothed out his clothes.

He swung open the door and walked right by Jeremy and Alexis. Harry could deal with them. He continued down the hall until he reached the large media room he had left his children in not a half hour ago.

Draco felt a little piece of his heart break at the sight that met his eyes.

Jamie was sitting on the floor leaning against a large sofa. Jake was sitting next to him, attempting to calm the little boy down. "Jay, please stop crying. Please? Papa will be here soon. Promise."

Jamie's voice was scratchy and rough. "Want Papa now." His little body was trembling and wracked with coughs and a few hiccups that were thrown in.

Draco could see a house elf bustling around the room. There was no vomit or mess left on the carpet, so he assumed the elf had taken care of it.

He went over to the couch and knelt down next to his two boys. He gave Jake a tender smile. "Thanks for trying love."

Jake nodded and stood. Draco followed his exit with soft grey eyes. There was something bothering Jake. He'd been acting a bit off for a few days now and Draco was starting to get concerned.

James let out a choked sob and reached out for Draco. "Papa."

Draco pulled the toddler into his arms and cradled him against his chest. Draco reached out with one hand to steady himself as he got to his feet. He tucked James deeper into his embrace when he felt tiny hands grasp at his shirt. "My tummy hurts, Papa."

Draco closed his eyes briefly and stroked the back of his baby's head. "I know sweetheart. I know." He dropped a soft kiss to the fine golden colored hair and smiled when he saw Harry coming toward him.

He disentangled James from his clothes and passed him to Harry. "Can you try and get him comfortable for me? I've got to talk to Jake for a minute."

Harry nodded as he secured his arms around his youngest. "Lexi and Jeremy went back to the twins' room. I don't even want to begin to imagine when they're getting up to. I'll see if I can get this one to settle down in our room for a nap." He shifted his hold on James before looking back at his husband. "So, you've noticed it too?"

Draco nodded and placed a hand on Jamie's back. His fingers moving in small circles as he tried to comfort the boy. "Yes. He's been so quiet since the reunion at school. He's always so loud and boisterous. It's making me nervous. The tough part is that I have no idea what could be wrong."

"Well, I believe I saw him heading out toward the stables. Might want to start looking there.”

Draco nodded again. "Sounds like a plan."

He leaned forward and kissed Jamie's hair, then Harry's lips. He gave Harry a soft smile before turning around and walking toward the outdoors.

Harry had been right in is assumption that Jake would go to the horses. Draco found him tucked away in the corner of Athena's stall, the Thoroughbred standing close with her head hanging over him like a protective parent. He had his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around them. Draco ran a hand along the mare's side as she entered the stall. He didn't say anything as he sat down next to Jake.

Draco wrapped an arm around Jake's shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. He pulled the boy closer to his side and rested his light head against his son's darker one. "So, you want to tell me what's wrong?"

Jake stiffened in his father's arms, but said nothing.

Draco smiled ruefully and smoothed back a strand of dark brown hair. Jake was so like Harry, it scared him sometimes. Always avoiding confrontation. Oh yes. That had Harry James Potter written all over it. "Don't try and deny it. I think I know you a bit better than that."

Jake stayed silent, but he loosed the death grip he had around his legs. He looked up at Draco with troubled eyes. He bit his lip, hesitating before he spoke. "Can I see it?"

Draco was confused for a moment. Then he understood. “It’s only been a couple of months, you won’t be able to feel much yet.”

Draco had taken a day and floo’d back to New York to see the healer that had been with him through his previous three pregnancies. Healer Tidmarsh specialized in male pregnancies and there was no one Draco trusted more with his babies. The scan had shown Draco to be almost four months along. Not that you could tell by looking at him; he barely had the makings of a baby bump. Draco had always been slender, almost scarily so. He’d worked hard to keep his body in good condition and there was little to no fat on his body. For all three of his last pregnancies, Draco had gained no more than a few extra pounds in addition to the weight of the baby, or babies in the case of the twins.

There wasn’t much difference between a male pregnancy and a female one. The baby grew and developed the same way, but on a smaller scale. A male pregnancy was much more taxing on the body, so full term and healthy twins were almost unheard of. Jake and Jeremy were nothing short of miracles to the Potters.

Draco lifted the hem of the shirt he was wearing and let Jake see his abdomen. There was the slightest convex to the usually flat plane. Jake stared intently for a few long moments. When the only movement occurring was Draco breathing, the boy looked at his father confused. “Why isn’t it moving? It moved the other times”

Draco chuckled. “The baby is only about the size of your fist at this point. Much too tiny for you to see from the outside. When Lexi and James were born, we didn’t tell you and Jeremy until I was much further along.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s customary to reveal a pregnancy after the first trimester.”

“Why?”

“In case something goes wrong in the beginning. It’s very hard for parents if they tell everybody about the baby and then something bad happens.”

“Oh.” A pause. “What’s a trimester?”

Draco’s head fell back against the stable wall with a light thunk. “Oh, I really had hoped we could avoid this conversation for a little while longer.”

Jake’s head tipped sideways. “What conversation?”

Draco smiled. “Nothing, love. In answer to your question, a pregnancy last for nine months, that’s how long a baby stays inside their mother or father to grow. Divide that up into three and you get three trimesters.”

“Oh. Alright.”

The pair of them were quiet for a while after that. Draco kept Jake pulled against his side and just continued to cuddle him, every now and then kissing the top of his head and smoothing out his always messy locks. Athena shifted around them, eventually laying down in the bedding and resting her head in Jake’s lap.

Draco smiled and ran his fingers over the red mare’s soft nose. “Don’t tell the others,” he whispered conspiratorially, “but I think she likes you the best.”

Jake grinned widely at Draco.

“Do you want to tell me what’s been going on in that head of yours lately?”

And Jake the Mute was back again. Draco poked him in the side repeatedly. “You know you want to. You know you do. You wanna, you wanna you wanna!”

Squirming, Jake pulled away a bit, trying not to smile. “Papa! Stop. S’not funny.”

Draco resisted. “Alright. It’s not funny. But you need to let me in on what’s been bothering you. You know I hate it when any of you are upset, and I can’t help unless I know the problem.”

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Jake's expression gradually morphed into one of fear and grief. He looked down at his lap. He stretched out his legs and pulled a folded up paper from his pocket. It was a photograph. A photograph that Draco hadn't even known existed.

It was of Draco lying in a hospital bed. He was asleep, pregnant, very pale, and had a multitude of wires connected to him in various places. Harry was perched on a chair next to Draco's bed. The Gryffindor had Draco's hand clutched in his own. When Draco looked a bit closer he could see that Harry had tears on his face. In the background of the picture there was another bed set up that had his three oldest children sleeping on top of it. Except for one. Jake was sitting up on the hospital bed staring at Draco with unmistakable fear and despair etched onto his features.

Draco felt his heart clench. “Where did you get this?” he asked hoarsely.

“Uncle Padfoot taught us how to make pictures from pensieve memories when you and Daddy were away one time and Lexi and Jamie were really sad. He made us a bunch of you and Daddy playing and riding with us. He taught Jer and I how to do it cause we’re the oldest. I made that one on my own.”

“Baby, why did you want to make this one?” Draco’s mind was stuck on the fact that what was supposed to be a happy experience for his children had turned so horribly wrong. He remembered Sirius asking them if he could show the twins how to make the images. He’d had no idea...

Jake shrugged. “I don’ know. I just did.”

Draco pulled Jake close against his chest, tightening his arms around his first born. The tears that had started to recede were back with a vengeance. He felt Jake's arms wrap around his torso and Draco could only clutch tighter. Hearing the soft sobs coming from his son only made the moment that much more painful. He kissed the top of Jake's head and rocked him back and forth. There were no words that could ease the situation. Draco was helpless. There was nothing he could do right now but hold Jake and try to comfort him. Nothing at all.


	6. Chapter 6

Ron shifted awkwardly in the receiving room of Malfoy Manor, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his jeans. Hermione stood next to him and patted his arm sympathetically. Remus stood with them waiting patiently. They had been escorted in by one of the house elves and were waiting for the rest of their group to arrive. Harry and Ron were going to take Jake and Jeremy to Diagon Alley to shop for school supplies while Draco took Alexis and Jamie with him to look at some horses for sale. Severus, Sirius, Remus, and Hermione would be accompanying him.

It was a common event for either Harry and/or Draco to go look at new horses. In their line of business, horses were always being bought and sold, some at a faster rate than others. What the twins didn’t know however, was that Draco was going to look at horses for them. The twins would be turning eleven in a few weeks, it was hard for Draco to believe that his babies were already that old, and each of the boys were going to get their own horses for their birthday.

Alexis and the twins came tearing down the stairs laughing and breathing heavily. They skidded to a halt at the bottom and proceeded to argue over who won. The three adults were amused and watched with smiles on their faces.

Harry and Draco came down the stairs not far behind the kids, only at a much slower pace. James was in Harry’s arms, propped on his hip. Draco had his arm looped through Harry’s other one and was leaning against him comfortably. It still surprised some people how at ease they were with each other.

A loud bell echoed through the decorative room and seconds later Severus and Sirius were there as well. Harry grinned. “Hey, guys.”

Draco broke away from his husband to greet his godfather, moving away not a moment to soon since Lexi was waiting right behind him to say hello. Of everyone, Lexi had decided Uncle Sev was her favorite from day one and always seemed to be attached to the Potions Master’s side whenever he was around.

Sirius had just said hello to Harry and the boys and was in the process of greeting his fellow Marauder and the youngest Mr. and Mrs. Weasley when he saw that Draco was free. “Hey, my favorite baby maker!”

The animagus pulled Draco close to him, enveloping the slighter man in a big hug. Draco laughed and returned the embrace just as fiercely. When they separated, Sirius kept his arm around Draco’s shoulders. “So, what’s the plan, Potters?”

Harry hugged Hermione and Ron quickly. “Well, if Ron would like to, he and I are going to take the twins to Diagon Alley to get some things.

“And I,” Draco broke in, “am going to look at some horses with the rest of you.”

Hermione looked back and forth slowly between Harry and Draco. Slowly, the dots were connecting in her head. “Harry, what kind of things are you getting?” It couldn’t be, could it? The timing seemed right.

Harry grinned. “Draco and I have decided to stay in England, permanently. So yes, Mi, Ron and I are taking to boys to get their wands and school supplies as they will be going to Hogwarts in September.”

It was dead silent for maybe, half a second, then all hell broke loose. Harry and Draco couldn’t be shuffled among their makeshift family members to be hugged within an inch of their lives fast enough. The kids had been consulted that morning and the two little ones were thrilled. Jake and Jeremy had been a bit more hesitant, but they had known that once they turned eleven they would be going to one of the magical schools available to them. Harry and Draco had taken them to visit many of the schools in the United States. So after some discussion, the twins had agreed to go to Hogwarts and the family would stay in England with frequent trips to New York to visit the friends they would be leaving behind.

When the Potter shuffle was done, Draco ended up in Harry’s arms. Harry thread his fingers through Draco’s hair and pulled it loose from the band it had been previously encased in. “Hey,” Draco scolded. “No playing. We’ve got to get going. I told Daniel we’d been there in an hour and it’s going to take longer than that to get there.”

Harry held up his hands in surrender. “Yessir.”

Draco rolled his eyes and swatted at his husband. “Go to the Alley. We’ve got to go. Alright people, let’s go.”

As they walked out of the foyer and followed Draco through a series of halls to a back entrance to the manor, Hermione was the only one who spoke. “So, how are we going to be getting there?”

“The truck.” Draco answered simply.

“Oh. Alright then.”

It took them just over an hour and a half to get to wherever they were going and Hermione was surprised to find that it felt like they’d just left Malfoy Manor when Draco pulled off the main road and drove up a private lane. Draco parked the truck and trailer directly in front of a massive stone building that was set just behind the main house on the property. The stable looked more like a small mansion than a home for horses. He stepped down from the truck and slammed the door shut behind him. Severus had sat up in the front with Draco while Hermione, Sirius, Remus, Lexi, and Jamie had been in the back seat, all seated with plenty of room thanks to an expanding charm. On the drive back, Draco would ride in the trailer with whatever horses they bought and Severus would drive.

The three Slytherins were perfectly at ease walking into the foreign stable, but the two Gryffindors with them were not quite as comfortable and stuck close to their companions. Lexi and Jamie were completely in their element though and wasted no time in darting back and forth between the stalls, eagerly reaching up to pet the noses of the horses sticking their heads over their stall doors.

“Draco!” A somewhat portly older gentleman was walking down the aisle toward the group of visitors. He had thinning grey hair on the top of his head, and a big bushy white beard. Combined with warm dark eyes he looked like a modern day Santa without the red suit. He was fairly tall and dressed in a pair of jeans and work boots and a heavy work shirt. He greeted Draco warmly with a grin and a handshake.

Draco murmured something to the man, earning a laugh in response. Smirking, the blonde turned back to his entourage. “Hermione, Remus, this is Daniel Barrigan, a good family friend. We’ve known him for many years and he is one of the best horsemen I know. Harry and I get most of our horses from him.”

Daniel nodded, as if confirming Draco’s statement. “Yes, and speaking of those horses, I have many for you to try, so if you would come with me, we can get this extravaganza underway.”

Hermione’s eyes widened and as they all started to follow Daniel she leant over to Sirius and whispered, “Extravaganza?”

Sirius grinned.

Daniel led them to the far end of the aisle and around the corner where there was another set of stalls that he informed them contained all of his ‘sale horses’. There were at least twenty horses here. Draco, Severus, and Sirius all shared a look. Draco and Severus smirked while Sirius grinned like a madman. “Let’s get this party started.”

Daniel motioned for one of the grooms to lead out the first horse. It was big bay gelding with a white star and snip on his face. The horse watched the group in front of him with interest, ears pricked forward. “This here is Condor. Five, almost six year old gelding by Judgement ISF. Last time we sticked him he was sixteen-three hands.”

Draco nodded. “If he’s anything like his sire, he’ll be a prize indeed.”

“I think I’ll take this one for a spin.” Sirius stepped up and moved to stand at the horse’s head and it was the first time that Hermione and Remus noticed that he was dressed in riding clothes. Well, sort of. Sirius and Severus both had on jeans and riding boots. Draco was in full riding attire: breeches and tall boots.

“You can ride?” Hermione asked incredulously.

Sirius paused in placing the tack on Condor’s back. “Umm, yeah.” He shared a look with Draco, who rolled his eyes. The blonde knew exactly what was going through the others head. “Pureblood thing.” They said together.

Sirius finished tacking up Condor and followed the attending groom out to the outdoor riding arena. Another bay horse, a stallion, was brought out, which Draco quickly had tacked up and and a grey mare had been pulled out of her stall for Severus.

Now that the three riders had all their first rides of the day, the children latched on to the last two members of their group. James tugged on Remus’s shirt, requesting to be picked up and was instantly obliged. Alexis tucked her hand into Hermione’s The little girl tugged and started walking toward the arena. “C’mon! Let’s go watch Papa spend lotsa monies.”

 

 

Six hours later, Draco, Severus, and Sirius were still riding. Hermione had lost count, but if she had to guess she’d say the three men were riding at least their seventh horse apiece. She’d watched intently for the first couple of rides, then Alexis had decided she was bored and turned to Hermione for entertainment. The Potter princess had all but demanded that the older woman play with her and tell stories about Harry and Draco when they were all in school together.

Hermione was sitting on a set of bleachers set right up against the stable with a direct view of the riding arena with Remus and the children close by. She was currently in the middle of telling Lexi about how she, Harry, and Ron became friends after they met up with the troll during their first year when suddenly Draco plucked his little girl from the bench and swung her up onto his hip. “Are you bothering Hermione here, chicky?”

Alexis giggled. “Nuh uh. She’s telling me stories about Daddy.”

Draco nodded. “Ah, I see. And did you thank her for telling you the hundred and one other stories she’s no doubt told you already?”

A pause. “Thank you Hermione.”

Hermione hid a laugh behind her hand and smiled at the little girl. “You’re very welcome sweetheart.”

Severus and Sirius appeared behind and next to Draco and Lexi started squirming and reaching for Severus. “Uncle Sev!”

“Don’t kick your father, Alexis.” Severus scolded as he lifted the girl from Draco and took her into his arms.

Remus shot his former student a concerned look. “Are you even supposed to be riding in your condition?”

Draco resisted from rolling his eyes. If he had a knut for every time that question had been asked...“I’ve talked it over with my healer and he says as long as I’m feeling well and up to it, and can handle a horse safely, then I can ride however much I want to.”

Hermione asked, “Are we ready to go back now?”

Draco nodded, tiredness easy to see on his face. “Yes, we’re done and ready to go home.”

Hermione and Remus stepped down from the bleachers, the older man holding on to Jamie’s hand to steady the child.

Sirius took the boy from Remus and lifted him up so James was siting on his shoulders as they walked through the barn back toward the front parking lot. “How many horses did you buy Draco?” Remus asked.

“Draco!” Daniel called out to Draco from the other end of the barn, turning around the corner to catch up to them. “That last horse you wanted, did you want to try him out?”

Draco was quiet for a moment, a long moment. Longer than his companions expected. “I don’t need to ride that one. I’m just going to take him home with me.”

Daniel nodded. “Alright, I’ll have one of my people bring him out to the trailer for you. The others should be loading now.”

The two men shook hands. “Thank you Daniel. Once again, this has been a very productive trip.”

“Any time my friend. Any time.”

With that, Daniel Barrigen returned to whatever tasks he’d been doing and left his visitors to see themselves out.

“In answer to your question, Remus, I bought six horses today.”

“Six? You said you only picked out five from the bunch we rode today?” Sirius interrupted.

Outside, a group of Daniel’s employees were loading horses on to the trailer Draco had brought with them. “I’m taking Condor, who Sirius rode first; he’ll be a good project for Harry. He likes the difficult ones. Leroy, that young grey that Severus rode; for Jeremy. I didn’t find one that I think would suit Jake. And there were three other ones that I liked that Daniel is going to ship to New York for me.”

“New York? But, you said you were staying here?” Hermione couldn’t hide the apprehension in her voice.

Draco smiled placatingly. “We are, don’t worry. But we’re still going to keep the house and stable in New York. We have a really good set of staff that are going to stay there and keep training. It will be extremely easy for either Harry or I to go back and forth if we need to.”

Severus gave his godson a hard look. A flashback to their school days, he raised his eyebrow, clearly not fooled by Draco’s misdirection. “You said six horses, Draco. You only named five.”

At that moment, a groom led another horse out into the parking lot from around the side of the barn. The horse was walking calmly next to his handler, but every few strides would toss his head and step sideways, then he’d be calm again. A light reddish color with three white feet, the horse was tall and leggy. Severus and Sirius immediately identified the horse as a Thoroughbred, and it was a horse that they had seen before.

“Draco...”

“Don’t start. I’m already going to get enough of it from my husband. I don’t need it from you as well. I know what I’m doing. You’re just going to have to trust me on this.”

Severus and Sirius shared a look, communication through facial expressions and familiarity that they had honed after being together for many years. Sirius was the one to break the silence. “Alright kiddo. It’s your call. Let’s get these guys loaded up and head home. It’s been a long day.”

When the groom tried to lead the chestnut up the ramp, the horse flung it’s head up and ricked back on his haunches. He pulled against his halter and backed up, clearly not interested in the giant metal contraption. The groom unsuccessfully tried to get the gelding to settle, and the horse was only becoming more agitated.

Draco stepped forward and snatched the lead away from the groom. “I’ve got it from here.”

“But, Mr. Barrigen said,” the groom spluttered.

“I don’t care what he said. If you continue to act like an idiot you’re going to ruin my horse and you really don’t want to do that.” The trademark Malfoy sneer came into play and the groom swiftly retreated into the barn, not looking back.

Draco held the end of the lead rope and moved with the horse as it moved in reverse as fast as it could while staying upright. “Easy, baby, easy. C’mon, no nonsense now. You know better. I know you do, because I taught you better. Good boy. That’s it. Easy, good baby. Very good baby.”

It was like a different horse had appeared in front of them. Within seconds of Draco taking the lead, the horse had stopped moving and instead had pricked his ears up and focused completely on Draco. The more Draco talked, the more the horse relaxed and moved closer to the blonde. In no time at all, Draco led the horse up the ramp with no fuss, and after a little maneuvering, backed the horse into one of the stalls on the trailer. Leroy and Condor were opposite the mystery horse and were happily munching on hay from the net hanging between their heads.

With the horses all loaded and in their places, Draco stood in the doorway looking down at them. He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Severus. “I’m all set back here. Just try not to go over any big bumps.”

Severus smirked, but said nothing. Hermione and Remus helped the children up into the back seat of the truck and got in themselves while Severus and Sirius closed the trailer ramp and door. Finished with that, the pair climbed into the truck and soon, they were on their way home.

Hemione resisted asking any questions until they had been driving for a good forty minutes. “Why is Harry going to give Draco a hard time about that horse? It seemed like he really liked Draco.”

It took a minute before she got an answer. Severus’ hands tightened on the steering wheel until his normally pale skin was even whiter. Sirius sighed heavily and shifted in the seat so he could see into the back. Thankfully, Jamie and Alexis had fallen asleep and would not hear the story he was about to tell. “That would be Egan. He’s a Thoroughbred gelding that used to be a racehorse in New York. I think he’s, what, six years old now?”

Severus nodded for confirmation and Sirius continued. “Draco prefers Thoroughbreds to most other horses. He thinks they’re more athletic to the big clunky warmbloods. Harry likes the warmbloods, but, Draco, Draco thinks the Thorouhbreds have more heart, that they put more effort into their jobs.

“Just before Harry and Draco found out that Draco was pregnant with James, they bought a few horses very cheaply off the track. Cadet had just retired and Draco didn’t really have a competition horse at the time, so he wanted to get a couple young ones and bring them along in hopes that one would become his next star. Harry was bringing along a couple young ones himself in addition to Orion so it worked out well.

“Draco brought home four Thoroughbreds. I don’t remember the registered names they had. Most Thoroughbred’s have some random ass race names. One of those horses was Athena. I think her registered names was ‘Tax Day Baby’; kinda awful. Anyway, the other two horses, Draco called them Lucy and Ricky, they were sold not long after they arrived. The last I heard, Lucy ended up as a kid’s eventing horse and Ricky is an older woman’s trail horse. Funny how things work out isn’t it?

“The fourth horse,” Sirius took a moment to clear his throat and looked back out the front windshield. Remus and Hermione exchanged a worried look. They had never seen Sirius like this before. “The fourth horse was Egan. Egan was something special. Draco was mad about him, was really convinced that this skinny red baby, the horse had just turned three, this skinny baby, was going to be ‘the one’. Every good rider has one horse that jump starts their career and puts them on the map. For Harry, that horse is Orion, which was a total fluke. For Draco, he hasn’t really had that horse yet. He’s made a name for himself as a trainer and an instructor and always does well at the shows, but that special horse hasn’t been found yet. He thought Egan was that horse. The bond those two had was something special, even though Egan was only with him for a few months.

“Harry really doesn’t share Draco’s love of the Thoroughbreds. He thinks most of them are too flighty, too hotheaded, hence his warmblood preference. Draco disagrees. Gradually, Harry has come to see that not all OTB’s are complete whack jobs, but its taken a ton of convincing.

“Draco was thirty-four weeks pregnant when it happened. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are because our horses are very good natured. It takes us a longer time to find the right horses because we have to be careful what we buy. We’re with the kids a lot of the time so we have to be sure that they’ll be safe around the horses too.

I don’t know exactly what happened, but this is the version that I know. All of the horses, their personal horses, Athena, Ranger, Cadet, and Egan, were in one of the big paddocks together and Draco went out to bring them some hay. Something set off Athena and she ended up crashing into Egan who then crashed into Draco which knocked him into the ground. He also ended up getting kicked in the side. Thank god for magic, because without it, Draco would be seriously crippled and Jamie would be dead.”

The passengers in the back seat were silent after Sirius’ tale. They couldn’t imagine how Harry must have felt after that. Even the idea of loosing a chid, a child that wasn’t even hers and she had only met a few weeks ago, sent chills through her and made her feel nauseous.

“Sirius, how did Egan end up here, though?” Remus had listened to his friend with trepidation, knowing that this was not going to be a pleasant explanation.

“Harry got rid of him.” Sirius answered.

“Excuse me?” The idea of Harry getting ‘rid’ of something, especially a living creature, was something she couldn’t wrap her head around.

“Draco somehow managed to crawl or something out of the paddock and I heard him yell. Severus and Harry were in France at the time. One of many trips to look at horses for sale. I think they were trying to find a horse for a client. Anyway, Draco was put into a healing coma to guarantee that he and the baby would heal properly and he was unconscious for a week. Harry all but lived in that little room with him. The kids were there for a while, but mostly Severus and I stayed with them at the house. It was...It was hard on Harry, trying to be there for the kids and stay positive and be there with Draco and keep the stable running.

“I don’t know what went through his head, but Harry decided that Egan had to go. I think he blamed Egan for Draco getting hurt. After he woke up, Draco came home and was on bed rest for the final two months of his pregnancy. He could move around a little, but Harry wouldn’t let him leave the house. Hell, he barely let Draco leave the bedroom. And I don’t mean that in a dirty way."

“What I do know, is after James was born, and Draco finally went back out to the stables, when he found out that Egan was gone, he was beyond distraught. A part of him definitely died that day he found out. I don’t think Draco’s ever forgiven Harry for that.”


End file.
